Spirited Away
by MadokaKotone
Summary: What happens in a parallel world? Especially a Spirit World? Chapter 7: Unraveling.
1. Scene Selection

(A/N:) OKAY, I did it. After reading all of these wonderful stories about my favorite movie, I had to join in. Some of you already know how much I love Spirited Away by my reviews, but I want to show you how I really felt through this story. I stopped writing for a while when my grandpa died recently, but reading your stories have swung me back into orbit. So, here is a little piece of my heart, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Summary: This is my take on what could've happened after Haku let go of Chihiro... before they showed her running down the large hill. That little pause between the two scenes has been bugging me for a few years now, so I decided to have a little take on it.

Disclaimer: SKIP.

* * *

Spirited Away

* * *

"Whatever you do, don't look back. Not until you exit the tunnel,"

"Will we see each other again?"

"Yes,"

"Promise?"

"Promise. Now go, and don't look back,"

Their hands finally separated, and Haku slowly dropped his to his side.

* * *

He was about to turn away to go back to the bathhouse when he heard a voice.

"Haku?"

He turned back, confused, "Chihiro?"

The girl stood there, back facing him, "…Haku."

Kohaku smiled at the girl's actions; even if she couldn't look back, she still wanted to talk to him. He was grateful that she held on for a little while longer. Haku tried to fight tears as he watched her back, "Chihiro."

The girl took a deep breath, "Haku, I know I can't turn around now; but, I just want you to know before I leave…" Chihiro felt the tears brim, and she was about to break, "I'll miss—"

He couldn't take it anymore. Forget the rules, forget not going any farther. Before Chihiro could finish, she felt strong arms wrap around her frail body. She bit back tears, "Haku! I thought you couldn't go any far—"

"Shh… I don't care," Haku gripped her as he spoke in her ear, "I'll miss you, too, more than anything else. I promise; we _will_ see each other again. I'll do whatever it takes. But, before _you_ go… Remember me," Haku grasped Chihiro's hand and held it behind her back. He whispered something to Chihiro as he placed something in her hand, and that was when her tears finally fell. Haku closed her hand over what he gave her, and he let it go before hugging her again. Glancing at his shoulder, he noticed that he was starting to disappear.

"Chihiro, promise me one thing," Haku said as he felt her shoulders bob up and down.

The girl choke back a sob, "A-Anything, Kohaku,"

The boy shivered at his real name, "Chihiro… Wait for me,"

Chihiro's tears were replaced by a smile, "I already am,"

Kohaku held on to her for dear life. He regretting telling her to not look back, but if she did, he would lose her forever. Haku didn't want that. Before his hands could disappear, he found himself twisting her hair; nudging his head into her neck, anything to remember her by. Forget the rules; forget whatever anyone else says; he was in love with a human.

Chihiro reached back behind her and grabbed his hair, "Kohaku, wait for me,"

Haku was starting to fully disappear, to his disappointment, and he let her go for the last time, not before planting a lasting kiss on her cheek, "I already am," He turned away, and their backs faced each other.

Chihiro whispered something, and dashed down the steps. Tears flew from her face and her vision blurred as she ran through the forever-wavering sea of grass. Stumbling numerous times, she cried openly, repeating his name as if she would forget it if she didn't.

Haku was about to walk away when he heard it. Or, he thought he heard her words. Haku would never forget them.

"I love you,"

It was faint, but it seemed like he was meant to hear it. Haku's eyes widened, but when he turned around he only felt a little splash on his face as he saw Chihiro running down the rocky steps and into the field. Haku watched her go until she ran to her parents, it was then he had to turn away. When Haku turned back, he saw her almost turning around. Haku winced as he used an ounce of magic to turn her head back. It was then he felt his heart-strings slowly deteriorate to the point where they couldn't be strung. Chihiro was walking away from him. His name was back, but his soul was broken. As she walked through the tunnel, he felt his breath leave him, as if Chihiro was his life-saver… He thought she was, just as he was hers when she was six. Falling on his knees, he hit the ground with his fists, "What did I _do_?!" His voice rang throughout the fields, as he wanted it to.As his tears fell, he whispered with a faint breath, "I love you too," hoping that Chihiro would hear him.

* * *

"A new home and a new school—it _does_ seem pretty scary."

"I think I can handle it."

* * *

As Chihiro sat in the back of the car, the only thing she thought of was everything she'd been through.

"_You shouldn't be here. Get out of here __now__!"_

"_Can you give me a job please?!"_

"_You're so puny."_

"_Meet me at the bridge. I'll take you to your parents."_

"_I can't believe I forgot my name. She almost took it from me."_

"_There's something in his side, I can't pull it out!"_

"_Haku, eat this. It's the gift I got from the River spirit; maybe it'll make you feel better!"_

"_I'm going to Swamp Bottom, please."_

"_You squashed it? Hahaha!"_

"_Your real name is—Kohaku River."_

"_That's weird; none of these are my mom or dad."_

"_Will we see each other again?"_

"_I'm sure,"_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise,"_

She shuddered as she thought of Haku close to her. She could smell his scent as he hugged her for the last time… She hoped it wasn't for the last time. Chihiro felt butterflies in her stomach as she thought of what Haku said to her. His words burned through to her soul, and there they stayed for eternity.

_I'm a river spirit. Don't worry, I will flow back to you._

Chihiro leaned on the window to look up at the sky, and she felt something in her pocket. She looked down and took it out. She must've put it there before she ran back to her parents. She looked at it for the first time, and what she saw made her vision blur again.

It was a dragon scale.

"…_Remember me."_

As Chihiro rubbed its metallic grey surface, she heard the water, she felt the current, and she felt _Him_. The girl smiled a bittersweet smile, and she rubbed her eyes to look out the window. She now had him with her.

"_Wait for me,"_

"_I already am,"_

* * *

(A/N:) Sigh So cheesy, I tell ya. Trust me, the story is completely different from here on out. Enjoy, whoever wants to peek at the next chapters. It will get intense, twisted beyond belief, and exciting from now on. If you didn't like the cheesiness, don't worry. The real sequel begins now.


	2. The Bookcase

**(A/N:)** Well, you asked for it, so I'm giving it to you. This part probably doesn't matter all that much to you, but it won't do any harm.

Anyways, this now-on-going story goes to **sidechain**, **eragonroxmysox****, ****Lauramichca**, **Jafilish**, and** Chocolatecoveredespressobean, **for encouraging me to do this sequel!  
Also to **ElektricStorm**, **sidechain**, and **fireshock, **for putting this story on alert (sly way of asking for a sequel. heehee).

Stuff you should know: This story takes place... well, right after the movie left off. Right when the car drives off. So you should get a pretty good idea of who everyone looks like, where they are, blah blah blah. Easier on your part. And mine.

Disclaimer: Let's say I did own Spirited Away and all of this. Now imagine me writing fanfiction on something when all the while I could just make it come true... Yeah, those two scenarios don't really match up, so there's your disclaimer for any of you who think that fanfiction-writers need one. This one goes for the whole story to come.

* * *

Spirited Away

The Bookcase

* * *

It didn't take long for Chihiro to find sleep, for before they even turned on the main road, she drifted off into a deep slumber. Her mom looked back to find her curled up without her seatbelt on. She shook her head and smiled.

When they got to the house, Chihiro's mom turned around in her chair again to wake up her sleeping daughter, "Chihiro… Chihiro, wake up, we're here,"

Chihiro grumbled and lingered in half-sleep for some time before forcing herself to move. She rubbed her eye with the hand holding the dragon scale, "H-huh?" She looked at her hand when she saw that she was holding something. When she caught sight of the scale, she bit back racing tears. _It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream. _

Chihiro put the scale away. When she looked back up, her parents already got out of the car. They were waving at her from outside, "Chihiro!"

Her dad smiled, "Chihiro, come look at your new home!" He held his arms up, and Chihiro glanced in his direction… then deadpanned. Her dad looked retarded, standing like a clown auctioning off a bright blue circus tent. With eyes crusty, Chihiro sauntered after her parents in a sleep-walk toward the house.

Her house.

Her _new_ house.

Outside, the house undoubtedly looked like every other house on their street: old and abandoned. So why would Chihiro's dad be so excited about it? Chihiro shook off the thought, too tired to think about anything at the moment.

Boxes piled on boxes were randomly strewn over their yard, and the moving van was nowhere to be seen. Chihiro looked up at the house from the cobblestone sidewalk, coming to see bent shutters and cracked blue plaster. The roof over the porch was adequate. But just adequate. Chihiro's gaze tore from up; she would sneeze if she looked up long enough. Glancing left and right down her street, she saw few things interesting. One thing that caught her attention was the 'For Sale' signs on _both_ neighbors' yards.

Perfect.

Chihiro sighed out loud. This was going to be interesting. Even though everything was going to be new, it wasn't going to feel new. New, to Chihiro, was in the form of a bathhouse, with spirits running around carrying out orders from a witch with a head the size of Earth. Or Jupiter.

Yeah, definitely Jupiter.

Chihiro smiled. A slight smile, but enough to get her moving again. She stepped on to the porch.

Suddenly, her body twitched, like she was delicately jolted by electricity. She lifted her foot off the porch in a heartbeat. That was weird, Chihiro thought. She gritted her teeth; something was wrong. All wrong.

She heard voices from inside the open doorway, "Okay, honey, the electricity's working now!"

"That's good to hear."

Chihiro furrowed her eyebrows and huffed. That couldn't have been it. But, she took a deep breath; planted her foot like she did on the stairs back when—

She bit her lip. Try not to think about it, Chihiro. Not now. She tried a second time, and the jolt didn't come. Electricity or not, that didn't feel so good. Don't tell me there's another spirit world here, she thought. One was enough.

Tidbits of her parents' conversation could be heard as Chihiro walked across the warped porch.

"The movers probably left already."

"So they just came, unloaded, and left? That's very professional."

"I'll call them tomorrow, now that the phone works. Strange, this place looks like it wasn't touched in five days."

Chihiro walked into her house and looked around from the doorframe. To her left she saw closed double shoji doors, possibly leading to an office. To her right was an open doorway to the dining area, guessing from the size of the room and the mirror taking up the whole wall opposite the doorway. In front of her to the right was a sagging staircase, and the rest of the space was a hallway that led to the living area. There was one column in front of the living room to hold up the top floor. If you stood on the second floor like you were standing on the column, you would see the whole foyer area where Chihiro was if you looked down and diagonally left. It looked roomy from where the front door was.

The kitchen couldn't be seen from the front door. That's probably where her parents were. That's where the conversation drifted from anyway.

"I'm going to check out the back. Making sure they kept their promise."

"Their promise?"

"Yeah. I picked this house because our agents promised it had the best view!"

"View?" Chihiro sighed. With her dad, it was all about the view. The girl then decided to venture; what else would she do? Help unpack? Fat chance. Her muscles were still sore from cleaning, pulling a bicycle out of a river spirit and wrestling an injured dragon.

Nonetheless, she would give anything to do that again.

Upstairs was tenfold more exciting than downstairs. After venturing for five seconds, Chihiro already picked out her room: a veiled room behind a secret bookcase. How she found it so fast she could not comprehend. Her feet just walked, no, _ran_ right to the bookcase like it was involuntary. She already knew there was a room there before she could guess. That's strange. There's usually a switch somewhere, she thought. Scanning over the books, she pouted.

There was no switch.

Well, she'd look for it later. There was plenty of time before dark, and she had more exploring to do. She was an explorer at heart after all.

That's what got her Spirited Away in the first place.

Chihiro took some time to inspect the bookcase beside a hallway leading to the other rooms. Far away, it really looked nothing more than an ordinary bookcase. Up close, it looked _extra_ordinary.

Intricate designs of waves cascaded down and around the wooden framework. There were five levels, but Chihiro's eye level reached only the third. There were also different colored stones embedded millimeters apart from each other on the wooden shelves. They were even in the back behind the books. Now that was weird, thought Chihiro. How did the carpenter do that? The wood would've… oh well. It's pretty. The stones were, too. They were really smooth and shiny, each a different vibrant color.

Chihiro touched a stone.

"Ah!" she jerked her hand away. That feeling came again; this time with a white light. Chihiro found herself on the ground. She must've developed too much inertia from rebounding her hand forcefully. Looking up at the bookcase from the ground, it looked like a monster. The girl's heart was beating fast now. Too many strange encounters from this one house already.

Chihiro dreaded night.

Picking herself up, she scurried away from the bookcase and rounded the corner right of the bookcase, going past its left side. She found four doors in the hallway. Well, three and a half. Two doors on either side of Chihiro were facing each other, one other door on the left end, and one door at the end of the hall on the right. That door was so small Chihiro would have to crawl to get through. Probably the attic.

Chihiro looked to her right and reached for the doorknob. She stopped herself. Will I get shocked again? She tried it anyway, that ambitious child, and soon she found herself in a bedroom. Nothing special, so she closed the door. In the hall, she turned and walked forward. She looked at the little door, but just noted to come to it later. Chihiro chose to open the bigger door instead. Inside was the bathroom. Again, same old same old.

Chihiro suddenly felt sluggish, probably from the depleting adrenaline she had from exploring her house. She was even more tired than before. Walking back down the hall, she realized she didn't get to explore the door on her left. Well, on her right now, but whatever. She would do that some other time. "Not that I'm leaving anytime soon," She thought aloud. She walked out of the hall and to the left to get to the top of the stairs.

Then she glanced back at the bookcase. It looked ordinary from far away, but she had a feeling it wasn't. It wasn't.

Chihiro bounded back down the steps to meet her mother.

Her mom blinked, "Chihiro, where were you?"

The girl looked up, "Upstairs."

Her mom shook her head, "You kids, so curious."

Chihiro nodded, agreeing to whatever her mom was saying. She was tired, so nodding her head was all she offered as a response. Hopefully her mom didn't ask her to do something important.

"Your dad's outside in the backyard; checking out the view."

Nod.

"You should go see it, too."

Nod.

"The only reason he likes this house is because of it. Your dad really made the right choice to pick this house."

Nod.

"We have a wonderful view of the river. You remember when I told you about that river? Oh, what's it called… The… Kohaku River—?"

Nod—"What?!"

Before her mom could finish, Chihiro burst out the back door and looked around frantically, "Dad?! DAD?!" She saw him sitting on a boulder next to a river._ That_ river.

He looked at Chihiro, "Oh, Chihiro, look at this! Bring back any memories?"

Chihiro was speechless. You have no idea.

* * *

**(A/N:)** So I was watching Spirited Away in my bed before going to sleep (again), and then I finally switch it off at one-o-clock in the morning, give or take a couple

minutes. The next thing I knew, I'm dreaming about bath-houses and river dragons. When I woke up, I thought to myself, "Great, not only am I thinking about it

when I'm awake, but it takes over my mind when I'm asleep." Pretty cool, but also freaky knowing that I could actually think of something for twenty-four hours...

Give or take a few.

Or not.

* * *

**My Take on Reviews.  
****(Typed for people who have nothing else to do) I have nothing else to do so I'll just share some thoughts.**

Reviews would be cool. Not just to have them, but to see where I'm at in terms of writing. I see reviews as REVIEWS, not as things I "have to have so more people would love me or see me as an ingenous writer" (Don't make me laugh)

"Review so I can have reviews so people can read my story and review!" ...Endless, but pointless cycle.

"ooo look, 167 reviews, dang she's amazing! It's better then this person they only have 30! ... And i have, like, 100 chapters while that person has 1." ...That's 1 or 2 review(s) per chapter while that girl has 30 per chapter. Read her story instead, it could be more interesting.

Another thing: read everyone's story (ESPECIALLY if they have 0 reviews). Maybe that story is the best thing you will ever read, but you don't want to because it has 0 reviews. Just read it, don't look at the review count.

(A/N 2:) Laughing Well, share your thoughts if you want to. Should I go on or should this story be dropped into the Kohaku River like Chihiro was?


	3. Boxes Unpacking, Mysteries Unfolding

* * *

(A/N:) Heehee, okay, I guess I'll continue. Thanks to all the supporters so far. I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Not putting too much up here, just usual author's note you see at the top of stories. See, you're still reading it. Why? Go on, read the chapter!

* * *

Spirited Away

The Bookcase

* * *

"Haku, what took you so long?"

It was almost nighttime in the spirit world. The sun was taking one last look at the world before it slipped under the horizon. Kohaku just arrived back to the bridge, only to find a very ticked off Yubaba waiting there for him. Perfect, he thought. He really was going to have it out with that witch once and for all.

"I escorted Chihiro, remember?"

"That was four hours ago, boy. Don't get fresh with me."

He's had it. No more bowing down to Yubaba. He was _done_. "Maybe you should take in consideration that I have the right to do that now, since my contract is now broken." It is, isn't it? As he thought, Kohaku's eyes narrowed.

So did Yubaba's, "Since when?"

"Since you made a plan to take Chihiro away. While you were devising a plan last night, I remembered my name."

The witch tensed. How did he know about her plot? How did he remember his name? She hid it with a smile, "There's no way you could've remembered; the only person that knows your real name is me. That river was drained a long time ago, so don't start that. And besides, I wasn't planning anything last night. I couldn't think without my baby there," Yubaba ended with a face.

Kohaku wasn't taking it, "You're not the only person who remembered my name. There was one other. Now, thanks to Chihiro, I'm free." He mentioned Chihiro's name anyway for the desired effect.

And, of course, it worked. Yubaba's eyes magnified, and she ran across the bridge to tangle Haku in her hair yet again, "So you're telling me that because of that _brat_ you're not working here anymore?!"

Kohaku gave her the iciest glare he had ever given anyone when she identified Chihiro as a brat. He was really out of it now. Kohaku seethed, "No; I'm telling you that because of Chihiro, _you_ are not working here anymore."

Yubaba narrowed her coconut shaped eyes, "What did you say to me? Ha, no one can order me around, boy."

Kohaku raised his eyebrows, "_I'm_ ordering you to leave. Leave this bathhouse. Leave this _place_. Go so far away that you will sever any ties with anyone here for eternity." The boy spoke with fierce determination. With every word he said, his blood boiled from all of his past experiences with Yubaba. Sleeping on dirt. Doing her bad deeds. Killing people for her. He was done. With every word, his body started to transform into his dragon form: his teeth lengthened, his eyes iced over completely, and his nails became claws. When he was done with his rant, Kohaku towered over the witch. He ended with a monstrous roar in Yubaba's face that seemed to get the point across.

Get. Out.

* * *

"Chihiro, can you come inside?" The girl's mom was in the kitchen when an exhausted Chihiro came looking for her. Chihiro was about to fall over from fatigue, so she found a chair wrapped in plastic to sit in. Hopefully she could find a crook to nudge into. Her mom looked at her, "Where were you, honey? I was calling you."

"You were?" In all honesty, Chihiro didn't hear her mom. Not because of the sound of the river; the noise the river made reminded Chihiro more of a babbling brook than a raging river. Probably because she was too dazed by the fact that she was actually living on the banks of the river. Not just any river. The _Kohaku_ River. Chihiro bowed, "I'm sorry," She sat down again.

Chihiro's mom turned to her, "Since when do you apologize?"

The girl opened her mouth, but soon closed it in thought. Her mom was amazed in the least. She couldn't name a time that Chihiro apologized. Neither could Chihiro.

Not until the bathhouse.

Chihiro's eyes sagged, "I guess it's just better." Good answer, Chihiro, she thought.

Her mom, still amazed, gave a small smile, "I'm glad you feel that way, sweetie," Her mom turned back to the boxes piled along the kitchen wall, "Now, can you help me with these—" When she turned around, Chihiro was fast asleep, almost falling off the table chair. Her mom shook her head and smiled,

"You lazy butt."

Chihiro's dad came inside the house from the backdoor in the kitchen, "Wow. They kept their promise, all right—" He saw his wife with a finger over her mouth, and looked at his daughter in the chair. He smiled, "Kids these days; always falling asleep in the weirdest places." He lifted Chihiro out from the chair, turned right, and led her into the living room. He set her on the red loveseat with cherry wood finish, and then he walked silently back to the kitchen to help his wife unpack.

A few hours later, Chihiro woke up and rubbed her eyes. What time was it? She peered out the window with squinted eyes.

The sun was down.

Chihiro blinked, and she uncurled her legs and shifted them to allow them to dangle off the loveseat. She looked at the floor in that sleepy trance you always get when you wake up for a few moments, and then finally forced her body to move. She made her way around the numerous boxes, and pretty soon she passed the column. Chihiro walked into the foyer when she heard her parents' voices coming from the closed shoji doors.

"So, are you saying that there's a ghost here?"

"Well, no, not really a ghost. I just feel… I don't know, awkward when I pass that bookcase upstairs."

Chihiro tensed. Partly in relief, because she wasn't the only one that felt it. Problem was, that _was_ the problem. It wasn't coincidence.

Chihiro's mom sighed, "Honey, maybe you're just tired from all this stress."

"Yeah, well, I'm always stressed, so this isn't new to me."

"Exactly… So, just let it go. It's nothing to worry about."

Chihiro deadpanned. Nothing-to-worry-about my _butt_.

The girl turned around and looked up at the bookcase, in all of its ordinary glory. She narrowed her eyes, and then looked at the shoji doors to her left. She slid it open to reveal an office. There were two steps to get down, so Chihiro took a seat on the first. Her parents were too busy lifting and inspecting everything to notice her.

"So, you're going to call the movers tomorrow, right?"

Chihiro's dad took something out of a box that said 'Fragile'. It looked like a little statue of something, "I already called them. Since the phone works, I just decided that I'd call them today. They said they would come back tomorrow morning to double check if we have everything. It was weird, though; they were asking why we haven't called yet. Thought we didn't even enter the house for a few days."

"I'm just glad the phone works."

Her dad set it down back in the box, "Yeah, me too."

Chihiro got up from the steps and walked over to her dad. She looked over his shoulder and tapped him, "Dad?"

He looked behind him, "Oh, Chihiro, you're awake. Thought you'd never wake up. What is it?"

The girl pointed to the box, one hand on one of her bent knees, "What's that?"

Her dad followed her finger into the box, "What?" Then he realized, "Oh, this?" He reached into the box, and then pulled out the statue again, this time giving it to Chihiro to hold, "My grandpa gave this to me as a parting gift. Weird-looking, huh?"

It trembled in Chihiro's shaking hands. She looked at it with unblinking eyes. She almost dropped it it scared her so much. So unexpected.

It was a figure of No-Face.

Chihiro gripped it for what seemed a very long time. She couldn't even comprehend… I know who this is, thought Chihiro as she just stared at it. It was a crystalline figure that was black at the top, but the black faded as it scaled the length of the figure, so it looked transparent. The same mask was on the top, that same smile and those same eyes Chihiro would try to avoid looking at whenever possible. The mask was carved in smooth, scintillating marble. It was not that she was afraid of the figure, she actually adored it. It was the fact that she had seen something that her dad had already. Except the one she saw was real. Where did he say he got this? His dad, right?

Chihiro decided to ask, "Dad, how did you get this?"

Her dad got up out of the box he was digging in to answer, "My dad. When he passed away, he gave it to me as a parting gift."

Chihiro continued the interrogating, "So… how'd he get it?"

Her dad smiled, "Well, there's a story he used to tell, but I was never really interested in it. Said he had met a spirit like that, and he just had to make a statue to look like it. Nothing special—"

"—Tell me the story!" Chihiro looked up from the figure and urged her dad.

He raised his eyebrows, "Really? You wanna hear it?"

Chihiro nodded her head vigorously. She had seen it, so she knew her grandpa wasn't lying. She wanted to know _how_ her grandpa met him, "Yes, please."

Her dad looked at her in surprise, "Since when do you say please?"

Chihiro gaped. She did it again. They haven't realized that she had matured greatly over the days that she was in the spirit world. Neither did she. Until now.

"I don't know," was her only answer. But her dad beamed anyway,

"Well, that's good to hear, though. Okay, tell you what; when I'm done with these boxes, I'll sit down with you and try to tell you what my dad told me, copy?"

Chihiro nodded, "Yes sir."

Her dad blinked, "O-okay." He looked awkward for a moment when he went back to the boxes. Chihiro grinned; she wanted to hear about the spirit world from a different perspective. Maybe her granddad went there when he was a kid, too. Maybe he met No-Face.

Maybe that's why No-Face recognized me.

Chihiro looked back at the figure in her hands, rubbing the surface and unconsciously started reminiscing of the past days again. She caught herself, deciding to help out, now that she was somewhat awake. Chihiro grabbed a box next to her, sat down, and started to rummage through it; head filled with the possibilities of what her grandpa went through... when _he_ was spirited away.

Upstairs, the bookcase shook, the waves etched in the wood started to cascade, and the pebbles glimmered in the shadows.

Suddenly, it stopped.

* * *

(A/N:) So my sister and I were looking at brain teasers, right? Okay, well, we stumbled upon one that said

"Sometimes I'm white, but sometimes I'm black. I can take you there, but you'll never come back. What am I?"

So we're like, 'Okay, that's interesting. What really got me was that there was a hint at the bottom that said, in exact words:

(Hint: This has nothing to do with Michael Jackson)

Ahhhh, my sister and I fell off our chairs laughing.

* * *

(A/N:) Uh-oh, the bookcase has movement! Uh-oh! Kohaku actually chewed out Yubaba! Haha. So, review if you think it's necessary. I'm really glad you guys liked the story so far. I appreciate the very satisfying reviews. They make my day all the time.

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	4. Of the Departed and the Incoming

* * *

(A/N:) Hello again old readers and new readers alike. This is where it's going to get interesting.

* * *

Spirited Away

The Bookcase

* * *

"Master Haku! Master Haku!"

"Calm down, I'm coming."

The young master had made a deal with Yubaba. Well, a one-sided deal. The other just agreed because her life depended on it. The two made arrangements on departure, and the deportee had to withdraw from the bathhouse as soon as their discussion was over. Yubaba was to leave to go to an uninhabited island, one where the train could not reach, nor could anyone else even if they were capable of magic. Kohaku's plan was to report that she had a mission to carry out, and he would be taking over the bathhouse while she was gone. Of course, that would be forever after. Until he found a successor to take his place as head master. He would be searching for a long time.

Kohaku entered through the shoji doors that lead into the garden. The ones he used when Chihiro—

He stopped, and looked back. Behind the bush. He was searching for her. He wanted her to be there. Hunched over her shoes, hiding from everyone, but knowing she had a chance at survival. The boy shook his head, slipped off his shoes, and waited till the workers opened the door. As soon as they opened it, he wish he hadn't have waited.

"Master Haku!"

"Master! Where have you been?"

"Have you seen Yubaba?"

"Where is Yubaba?"

The boy held up his hand, "Everything's all right. She's on a mission right now, and—" He paused. Should he really tell them that he's taking over till she gets back? Not that she's coming back. He made _sure_ of that. Just the fact that he had a lot of work thrown into his lap the moment he chewed out the head honcho. But he was the one doing the throwing, so there was no turning back now, "—and I'm taking over until she gets back." There, he said it. The bathhouse was now his. Not officially to the others, but to him, it was his duty now.

To his surprise, the others panicked, "What is she doing?!"

"What's the mission for?"

"When will she be back?"

Kohaku hid his already rising frustration. He didn't expect this. He didn't seem to have calculated this correctly. He hid it behind his blank face, "Don't worry about that now. Right now, I'm in charge." He walked passed them as a dismiss, and left it at that.

The others looked at each other, and shrugged.

* * *

"HONEY, WATCH OU—"

"WHOA!"

Chihiro shot up to the smell of something burning. She squinted her eyes from the light coming in from a window, "What?"

For just a moment, a small moment, Chihiro thought she was sleeping under a thick blanket, with Lin beside her. She could almost smell Kamajii's furnace.

But she found herself on a small mattress covered in plastic in the office. Chihiro blinked a couple of times, and then used her arms to push herself off the ground. The girl ran to where the smell was coming from, "Mom? Dad?"

Her parents turned to her and raised their eyebrows. They were a mess. Chihiro had to contain a small chuckle. Her mom had dust in her hair, face and clothes, while her dad had a thick layer of soot covering his whole body. Their hair shot straight up, so Chihiro was guessing a backfire. Her dad beamed, "Oh, sorry Chihiro. Problems with the stove, that's all."

"Honey, what do you think happened?"

"The gas pipe probably isn't functioning properly. I'll have the movers check it when they get here."

Her mom sighed, "Will they know what to do? They're just movers."

The man nodded, "You're right, maybe I should call the plumber. Or the mechanic. I need to inspect the rest of this house." He rubbed his hand over his forehead, rubbing some soot off with it. He examined his hand, "That's going to take a while to clean."

"If the shower even works."

Chihiro was thinking of something when her parents were discussing future problems with their house. When did I fall asleep? I don't remember anything after the figure of—Oh, yeah. She spoke up, "Dad, when can I hear the story?"

He turned to her, "Oh, yeah. Sorry we didn't get to it last night. You fell asleep two minutes after you started helping. I didn't want to wake you." He smiled, "After the movers get done with the house, okay?"

Chihiro huffed, but nodded. She could wait. Wait—Since when was she this patient? She was starting to surprise herself. She shook her head smiling, and then went to the stairs. When she got there, she put her hand on the wooden railing and looked up at the bookcase. She exhaled, and then started up the stairs. Now on the second floor, she walked to the bookcase and sat down in front of it.

All she did was look at it. Nothing else. Not even take a book off its shelves. She wasn't about to touch it just yet.

It was too early to get shocked and blinded.

So Chihiro inspected it from a distance. She was looking at the stones for the most part. They were mesmerizing. The light from the front window above the door was being reflected by the stones, and Chihiro couldn't take her eyes off of them. After they had their fill, though; her eyes tore from the stones and started to browse the books. Chihiro saw a plethora of topics: Emperor Hirohito to Hiroshima; Shogun to River Dragons—

She stopped and stared. How could she have missed it before? Probably because she wasn't looking at the titles of the book, just the bookcase. After thinking it over, Chihiro reached to pull out the book…

No shock.

She held it in her hands. Chihiro blew out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. Soon she felt the book, and to her, the book was bulky and heavy. She had to sit down. Chihiro thought of sitting right there, but wood floors weren't that comfortable if you had a ponderous book on your lap. Chihiro thought of the room she didn't explore yet, so she walked to her right to round the corner, took a few steps forward, and opened the door on her left with one hand while she picked up her leg to balance the book in the other. She opened the door to find a few boxes that said 'Chihiro' on them and a mattress on the floor.

Great, she thought, the only room I didn't look at was mine.

Chihiro walked in and plopped down onto the bed. She adjusted the book in her lap, dusting it off as she studied the cover. The usual book cover; solid forest-green background with 'RIVER DRAGONS' in gold print. The book looked to be about fifty years, if not older. The corners were bent, and there were numerous dents. She was about to open the book when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" Her dad called from downstairs. Chihiro set the book on the mattress, making it bounce from the impact. She ran out of the room and to the railing, looking down into the foyer area. There were two guys in light blue button-up shirts talking to her dad while he nodded occasionally.

"…So we're going to go through the house to make sure everything's doing okay."

"Thank you sir…s. One thing, can you check the stove first? I need to feed my family."

"Of course."

Chihiro walked back to the room and back to the book. She wasn't interested in mechanics. She was more interested in dragons. What else would a ten year old be interested in? Chihiro grabbed the book, when suddenly her thoughts halted. She shouldn't look at it yet. There was something in her mind that told her to put the book back on its shelf. Blinking as she held it, Chihiro decided that she'd listen to her sixth sense.

She learned that the hard way.

Chihiro walked back out of the room, turned right, and turned right again to get in front of the book case. She lifted the book up to the shelf when she stopped.

There was one stone missing.

It was behind the books, on the middle shelf, hiding behind the River Dragon book. Chihiro looked at it for some time. Then the book started to weigh her down, so she put it on the floor in front of her so she could inspect the spot farther. Bits conversation downstairs could be heard.

"Okay, Mister, your stove's all taken care of."

"Thank you so much. Now the electricity has been going sort of haywire…"

"Of course. It's always these houses that have that problem."

Chihiro felt the indent in the wood, and she tilted her head. In was in the same shape as a…

Hold on.

Chihiro reached into her pocket and pulled out Kohaku's scale. Suddenly she felt like she was underwater again, feeling the water swirl around her body. Chihiro blinked her eyes open, looked over the scale, then back at the spot. She blinked again.

"_Remember me."_

"_We have a wonderful view of the river. You remember when I told you about that river? Oh, what's it called… The… Kohaku River—?"_

Chihiro, very slowly, moved the dragon scale to the hole.

This must be…

The scale looked like the right size. Chihiro smiled, maybe it was meant to be there. She _was_ living by the Kohaku River all of all places. But then she looked at the stones. Those weren't stones.

Those were dragon scales.

How did she not figure that out? Chihiro narrowed her eyes at her own obliviousness.

"Okay, electricity's fine now."

"Thank goodness."

"Now that will be… Here you go."

"…Oh boy."

It slipped perfectly into the hole. She smiled, but suddenly the bookcase shook. "Ah!" Chihiro picked up the book about River Dragons and ran back a couple steps. She then threw the book on the floor, releasing a lot of dust, and gripped the railing. The bookcase shook violently, the waves started to animate, and the pebbles—well—scales now, shimmered brightly. Chihiro's breathing was in short rasps now. All of a sudden, it stopped and slid to the side, revealing a wall of light.

Chihiro froze.

Then, she gradually released her now sticky hand off the railing, undoing the vicegrip she had on it. She slowly got up on her feet. Blinking a couple times, she inched her way to the light wall. "Wh…What…" She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She knew the bookcase led to a room, but there was a room on the other side… So where would the bookcase lead to? She stuck her arm in, and watched as her arm rippled like water in the light. She took it out and looked at it, then at the door. Chihiro huffed, deciding to take the risk.

She walked straight in, letting the light engulf her.

When she opened her eyes, Chihiro was half-blinded. Blinking repeatedly, her vision started to clear. The first thing—and only thing she saw—was flowers. Everywhere, like she was in a garden. Even in her peripheral vision there were blue roses or tye-dyed bird-of-paradises. She tried pushing her way out, "Ach! Let me through—"

Suddenly, Chihiro heard voices. She could barely make them out though because of the tight space in the strangling flora. She stayed still to strain her ears to listen.

"Hello!..."

"…to the…"

"…see you!"

Chihiro tilted her head, and then froze. She couldn't have. She couldn't. I know those voices, she thought. She then pushed with much more force this time, spreading the flowers out in arches. With one final push, Chihiro fell flat on her face onto a small dirt road by a wooden gate, "Umph!"

Using her arms, she got on all fours and peeked through the holes between the wooden planks, and what she saw brought tears to the eyes.

Lanterns—

Held by jumping toads in workers' clothes—

On the bridge.

Chihiro held her head in her hands.

She had walked right into the spirit world.

* * *

(A/N:) So my cousin comes to my house after school, right? Well, one day he came and he said he almost got detention. I was like, "Okay, what did you do _now_?" He

laughed and said, "Well, I _almost_ got detention." He explained that it was his birthday, and that a girl gave him a card. I patted him on the back for that, but he

shrugged me off with a "Hey!" He then told me that the card the girl gave him was one of those singing cards, and his teacher thought it was a cell phone, so he had  
to explain in front of the class what happened. I laughed and asked, " Did the girl know this?" He nodded. I thought to myself, _My friend's birthday is coming soon..._

* * *

(A/N:) Okay! I know this chapter might've confused you, but if you trust me it will clear up during the course of the story... That is, if you _want_ me to continue the story...

* * *


	5. Wait What?

* * *

(A/N:) Well well well... I have to say. THIS is the part where things get... well, read for yourself.

* * *

Spirited Away

The Bookcase

* * *

"So, Yubaba, after all these years…"

"Yes… it has been awhile, hasn't it?"

"Only a century, my precious."

"It certainly feels like it."

"Is that mine?"

"Oh, the baby? No, I stole it from my sister's ex's daughter. She had it coming—Of course Boh's yours!"

"Haha, you always get me like that, Yubaba. So, you're finally free of that horrid bathhouse? It seems like you left in a hurry. Driven out?"

"No. I just made it that way to let Haku think he's won. I'll have my revenge soon enough."

"You've always favored revenge. That's what I liked about you. I still remember that incident with that Ogino boy. Ha ha, you created such a fiasco—"

"—I don't want to talk about that right now. But I will tell you something that you might find amusing."

"Oh? Do tell."

"His granddaughter came just recently as well."

"So he_ did_ have kids. How did that go?"

"Ugh, she was a _whiner_."

"Haha, no rest for the weary. So what are you going to do now that your apprentice is stealing your thunder?"

"…He hasn't stolen a _raindrop_."

* * *

Chihiro rubbed her eyes. Twice. Then slapped her cheek, "Wake up! Wake up!" She wasn't back. She wasn't. She didn't believe it. She didn't.

"Hello!"

"Welcome welcome!"

"Glad to see you again!"

Chihiro shook her head again. Then she peeked through the gate. The toads were still there and spirits passed by… Chihiro narrowed her eyes.

Something didn't seem right.

She looked at her hands, expecting them to be translucent. Instead, she saw her epidermis, and not the ground, "What?" She blinked in confusion; she would've started to disappear by now, so why wasn't she? Chihiro got up on solid limbs and decided to take her chance by crossing the bridge. I guess since I've already been here I stay normal, she thought to herself. She smiled at the reactions she might get. Hopefully a day in the real world didn't equal to a couple years in the spirit world like it did in myths and legends. Chihiro walked right up to the bridge, passing by the guards.

"Hello again!"

"Good to see you!"

Chihiro stopped in the middle of the bridge and looked back at the toads. She narrowed her eyes in thought, "What?… Did they recognize me at all?" The girl then kept walking, now starting to believe in the myths and legends she'd heard. Suddenly it hit her; what if _no one_ remembered her? Chihiro started to fast-walk, hoping to Kami she wasn't forgotten entirely. The girl then broke into a run to the garden door, opened it with haste, and jumped inside.

In the isolated patch, Chihiro crawled on all fours to the bush she hid behind with Haku—

Kohaku…

She shook her head. Then she looked up over the bush to see silhouettes of creatures running around behind the doors. She smiled, Lin was there. She would have to look for her later. Right now, she wanted to find out if Kamajii still remembered her. Chihiro was getting antsy over the possibility of everyone's memory of her erased. Opening the door to the stairs, she looked out to the land beneath her, and took note that there was barely any water there.

Starting down the stairs—now at a normal pace—she looked at the train tracks. They looked shiny and new, but maybe that was just the moonlight. The moon had a brilliant halo around it that night. Chihiro smiled again—she was smiling a lot now.

When the smell of soot and spices reached her nose, Chihiro bounded down the last couple steps and jumped onto the platform in front of the door. She was running on adrenaline now, and she took advantage of it. Breathing a little, Chihiro opened the door and peeked in. She saw the same exact picture she saw last time, only this time, there were no soot balls—there were kids putting coal into the furnace.

Chihiro gasped, "Whoa!" She opened the door a little more cautiously now, and slipped in beside the machinery at an angle so the workers couldn't see her. Making her way to the little space by the doorway, she looked around the corner to peek once more. She almost cried when she saw Kamajii again, even though it has been, what, two days?

Maybe he didn't remember her.

That would hurt.

Suddenly Chihiro heard Kamajii bang his hammer on the stone top yelling, "Meal time! Take a break!" Chihiro smiled out of pure nostalgia. As soon as the workers left through the little shoji door, Chihiro came in. She stepped down from the wood floor and went up to Kamajii with her lip bitten, "Um… excuse me…" If he remembers me, he would turn around and glomp me; if he doesn't, mind-as-well ask for a job all over again to cover.

She preferred the former over the subsequent.

She got neither.

Kamajii turned around and took one look at Chihiro before saying in his kind, raspy voice, "What are you doing down here? You should be with your parents. Or at least be taking a bath." He chuckled and murmured, "Kids these days, always so curious."

Chihiro was beyond confused. To say that this encounter was beyond comprehension was an understatement. Chihiro was about to scream, "Don't you remember me?!" When suddenly she heard a voice behind her,

"Um… excuse me…"

She turned around and saw a boy about her age. The boy had straight black hair that covered his grey eyes, and lean limbs festooned with cuts and bruises. He was the same height as her, too, but his clothes were all tattered. Kamajii turned around as well, and he raised his eyebrows at the boy, beckoning him to come closer. The boy obliged. As he walked towards Kamajii, he caught sight of Chihiro. They stared at each other for a split second, and then the boy walked over to Kamajii's podium, "I would like to have a job, please." Chihiro blinked, sensing that the boy looked familiar. Kamajii pushed up his spectacles, eyeing the boy in front of him,

"You would like a job, huh? But you're a human!"

Chihiro gaped. Kamajii had been so nice to her; why was he so harsh with this boy? I'm a human, too, Chihiro mentally addressed Kamajii, Why were you so nice to _me_? She already dropped the 'because-I'm-a-girl' reason. She wasn't dumb.

Something was just not right.

The boy replied, "I promise to work really hard."

Chihiro blinked twice. Déjà vu much?

Kamajii held his chin in consideration. He looked at Chihiro, "What do you think? Should I put this boy to work? I've already got tons of young boys here to help me."

Chihiro stood there dumbfounded. Kamajii asked her for her opinion. The young boy looked at her with soft eyes. Chihiro felt as if she was staring at herself—the young girl that she was back when _she_ was begging for a job. She wanted to say 'Of course you should let him work! Can't you just believe him?' But instead, something blurted out of Chihiro's mouth before she could stop it,

"Why are there kids working here instead of soot balls now?"

Both Kamajii and the boy looked at her in amazement. Kamajii laughed, "HA HA! Soot balls working for me! HA HA HA!" Chihiro flinched at his sarcasm, but softened as realization began to hit the 'slave to the boiler that heats the baths', "Actually… that's not a bad idea, my child."

Chihiro found her thoughts getting jumbled again. Didn't Kamajii already have soot balls working for him? Did he forget about that? Alzheimer's? She shuddered at her last thought. Please don't let him have Alzheimer's—anything but that.

Kamajii interrupted her thought-train, "What's your name? You work here, child?"

Chihiro sighed in defeat. Maybe Alzheimer's even worked on spirits. She would miss Kamajii the Boiler Man, "Chihi—" On the other hand, Chihiro thought it would be better to say that she did work here—under the name Sen. That would be easier: Kamajii didn't remember her anyway; she wasn't considered human anymore, allowing less attention; she could get the boy a job; roam the bathhouse to find other people (that didn't have Alzheimer's) that hopefully remembered her; and she could finally be at home again.

"Sen."

Kamajii nodded, "Okay, Sen. I'll take your idea into consideration; I just need magic to fulfill it. While I'm at it, could you show this boy to Yubaba's room?"

Chihiro's hair bristled at the witch's name. Maybe Haku—Kohaku—didn't get his chance in the long run. She obeyed anyway, "Yes sir," She turned to the boy, "You don't need your—" She was about to say shoes, but seeing that the boy had none, decided against it, "Never mind. Come on." She beckoned him to follow her, and she led him to the shoji door.

When the two of them were on the other side outside the boiler room, Chihiro walked in the direction of the elevator, "This way."

The boy ran up to her, "Thank you for helping me, Sen."

Chihiro turned to look at him, "You're welcome. I just know what it's like."

The boy nodded, not needing to hear her tale.

Sooner than Chihiro thought, they were at the top floor. Maybe because Chihiro knew all of the ups and downs in the bathhouse. Shortcuts included. Maybe they took the right elevator; the one that went straight up to the top floor. All-in-all, Chihiro just breathed a sigh of relief. She was actually hoping not to run into anyone yet.

The two kids stepped out of the elevator and into the extravagant hallway. Chihiro led the boy to the door with the talking knocker, and motioned him to stand beside her. She pointed to the knocker, and the boy nodded. He knocked on the door.

"Come in," was all they heard until the boy was instantly thrust forward,

"Ah! Sen!"

Chihiro gasped, and started running after him, "Hold on! I'm right behind you!" The girl ran after the sliding boy; catching up with him, and then falling behind. The cycle continued until they reached double-doors. The doors flew open, and the boy tripped over the step while Chihiro skidded to a stop. Chihiro slipped back behind the doors, not wanting to face Yubaba again. She felt bad for leaving the boy, though. She heard the conversation from her spot behind a tall china vase.

"I'd would like job, please."

"So, you want to work here, huh?"

"Yes please."

"You seem like a strong little boy, but I've already got things under control around here—"

"—please can you give me a job?! I promise I'll work really hard!" Chihiro raised her eyebrows at the boy's impulsiveness; he really wanted this. Yubaba seemed to be fond of the boy's tone,

"Shush! You'll wake the baby!" Chihiro scoffed at that. Yubaba complied, "Okay, fine fine! Just quiet down." Chihiro heard the slip of paper drift to the boy's hand. The contract. Part of her wanted to run in there and grab him before he signed it, but something in the back of her head told her to stay there.

This sixth sense thing… It's killing me.

The paper slipped back to Yubaba, and there was a silence as she read it. Chihiro strained to hear the boy's name, "So… your name is Ichirou…"

Chihiro furrowed her brows. Hey, I've heard that name before—

"Yes, Ichirou Ogino."

Chihiro's eyes magnified. That was her grandfather's…

Wait a minute…

Chihiro finally put two and two together.

If no one recognized her, Kamajii didn't remember her, there were no soot balls in the boiler room, and if that kid is her grandfather…

She was in the spirit world…

But the spirit world… in the past.

* * *

(A/N:) So I was reading over your (wonderful) reviews the other day (thank you thank you) and I just had to laugh at some of them. I thought to myself, "Man,

isn't this going to trip them or what..."

(A/N2:) So, yes I did continue. Thanks for the support so far from my readers and reviewers, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

* * *


	6. The Story Begins

* * *

(A/N:) Wow, fastest update I've ever done. I really like this chapter, though, I'm not going to lie. (And not because of the first sentence...) You'll see why when I'm done.

* * *

Spirited Away

The Bookcase

* * *

"So, you plan to _kill_ the poor child?"

"He's not a child, he's a river spirit. There's a difference."

"But you still intend to kill him."

"No no of course not. I'm not that kind of witch."

"… Okay! So what are you going to do? You're not even allowed to get off this godforsaken place."

"Oh, I've had plans for this scenario for _years_."

"So that Ogino boy has done something to straighten you out?"

"I told you not to talk about that demon-child! And no—ever since I met Haku I knew he was the type of boy that would do such a thing as banish me. It reflected in his eyes."

"So you took precautions from the start. Very clever of you Yubaba."

"Yes, well, precautions were required the moment Haku met… _that demon-child…_"

* * *

Kohaku slid open the door that led to outside. The door that he would always lead Yubaba out of so she could transform into a bird-creature and fly off to complete some mission. He always tried to keep his face blank, in case Yubaba would see him accidentally scrunch up his nose from sniffing her foul smell. The witch stunk whenever she transformed into the bird form, and Kohaku hated it. He used a bit of his magic to cleanse the air around the balcony, ridding it of that witch's scent.

The sun was at its peak when the boy walked outside and put his hands on the rail. Hair floating aloft the slight breeze, he peered down at the vast ocean, watching the sun's rays bounce and flitter on the water's surface.

Finally. Peace.

The boy turned around and beckoned the large, cherry red, cushioned chair from inside the office to saunter through the shoji door. When the chair obliged, Kohaku leaned back to rest in it, "Ah…" he said pleasantly, "…Now what do I do with this place?"

Suddenly he felt another presence in the room, and he waited for the invader of his peace, "What is it?"

"Sir, there is a problem down in the boiler room."

It was one of the chief toads.

Kohaku kept calm, "What's the matter?"

The chief hesitated a bit before he spoke. He walked to the chair whilst speaking, "…Lin accidentally—"

Before the toad finished his sentence he realized that the boy wasn't in his chair anymore.

He looked around in confusion.

* * *

Chihiro was stuck in the confinements of her thoughts. How… Why… All those questions pounded into her mind. There she was in the spirit world… but with her grandpa when he was a kid.

Chihiro had actually never seen her grandpa.

He died before she was born.

Chihiro has only heard about him in the crazy stories her dad told her about him. Well, she thought, at least this explains the statue of No-Face. Her dad didn't need to tell her that one. _She_ could tell _him _that one. She dared not to peek out from behind the vase, for Yubaba was still going over rules with Ichirou.

"You're not Ichirou anymore. You are now Ichi, you got that?"

"Yes mam."

Chihiro noted herself to tell him not to forget his name. She couldn't forget it as well. Soon the lecture was over, and Yubaba turned the boy loose.

"Now get out, I've got work to do."

Ichirou briskly emerged from the double doors and started down the hall. He passed by the vase Chihiro was by.

"Wait!" Chihiro whispered.

The boy turned around, "Oh! I didn—"

Chihiro cut him off with a quiet gesture. She then scooted slowly out from behind the vase, to avoid abrupt shattering, and ran to catch up with the boy. As soon she got close, the two kids made a break for it to the front doors they came in from. There were many hallways, so they soon got confused.

"I think we went this way!"

"No, I'm _pretty_ sure I was tugged roughly to the right on this corner over here."

"No, I remember being tugged—" Chihiro held her mouth, but the boy turned to her.

"You mean you've been here before?"

The girl didn't know what to say. She quickly tried to find a cover up, "I mean I've been to see Yubaba once. She tugs everyone; she doesn't like to wait for you."

The boy seemed to believe Chihiro, to her relief, "I understand completely," He said while rubbing his neck, "I think I pulled something."

"No, that was Yubaba."

The boy smiled, "Alright, now where do you think we should—"

"—This way!"

Both Oginos turned around, only to find no one else in the hall. They looked at each other in confusion.

"Who—"

"—Over here!"

They heard the voice again, and tried to follow it this time. They rounded a corner to their left, and saw someone at the end of the corridor ahead of them. They looked at each other again before running after the guide. Footsteps reverberated throughout the corridors as they raced to catch up with… well, they didn't know who it was exactly.

"Here!"

"Coming!" shouted Ichirou as they rounded one last corner. They saw the many bright-colored doors that had opened before Ichirou was tugged in by Yubaba. They found out that the person they were following was a kid. He was at least a hundred and fifty feet down, but Chihiro already knew who it was.

Haku.

"_Will we see each other again?"_

"_Yes,"_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise."_

Is this what he meant?

"Come on!" Ichirou whispered, and they both raced to the doors. Haku quickly followed them through the last set of doors and closed the doors behind him.

They were all out in the hallway now, both Oginos catching their breath and Haku waiting for them to recuperate. Chihiro wasn't trying to catch her breath, though; all she could do was marvel at Haku. He looked so _different_. His hair was that same shade of forest green, and his eyes sharp with intelligence, but he was actually a little shorter than Chihiro, which she inwardly smiled at. She was guessing he was only about eight years old.

His tenseness was the same though.

"Come on, follow me," Haku snapped unconsciously. Chihiro was a little thrown off by his tone of voice. It was also a little higher, too, making her bite her lip in attempt to suppress her chuckle. She didn't expect it. It didn't seem to faze Ichirou, though. He motioned towards Chihiro,

"Let's go."

Chihiro nodded, and then ran to catch up with the two boys. Dazed. Haku closed the elevator as soon as she stepped foot in; almost closing it on her. Chihiro sensed a little bit more of déjà vu. Haku seemed normal when leading them through the maze of corridors, but as soon as they got out he turned cold.

Just like he was when she came.

Maybe Yubaba already put that slimy slug in him. Chihiro was thinking back to the time in the boiler room. The time she squished that bug that controlled Haku without knowing it. She wished she could do that now, but that would alter history.

The elevator came to a stop, and Haku let go of the lever. He stepped to the side and motioned for them to step out. When they did, he went out after them. He gave them instructions,

"Now, here's what we're going to do. What's your name?" he asked looking up at Chihiro.

Chihiro stuttered, "Chihi… Sen."

Haku nodded, "Okay, Sen, you and…"

"Ichi."

Chihiro was proud of how her grandpa caught on so quickly.

Haku nodded again, "You and Ichi will come with me to talk to the foreman. He will decide what to do with you."

Chihiro thought quick, "Haku, I—"

The boys looked at her. Haku blinked, "You know my name?"

Chihiro wanted to melt right there. She didn't only know his name. She knew his _real_ name. Chihiro had to pick out yet another cover-up apple from the apple tree. Soon, she thought, I'm going to run out of these things, "I've heard about you from my master. I'm an assistant here."

"No one really knows me. Who is your master?"

"…" Great. Another apple. It took Chihiro some contemplation on this answer. Who would she say? Pretty soon, though; she had the perfect answer, "Kamajii. The Boiler Man." It was perfect; Kamajii would remember her from her idea about the soot balls.

Now it depended on whether Haku believed her or not.

"Okay," He spoke softly after a dreadful two-second silence, "Sen, you can go back down to the boiler room. Ichi," He turned to Chihiro's grandfather, "Change of plans. You can go with Sen until I find something for you to do."

Both of the Oginos inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Truth be told, they wanted to stay together. Chihiro bowed while Ichirou smiled,

"Thank you so much!"

Haku just stared at him, and then stepped back in the elevator, "Use that elevator behind you to the left." After that said, he pulled the lever down, and went back up.

When Haku left, Ichirou looked to Chihiro, "What's his problem?"

Chihiro shook her head, "He's got a_ lot_ of problems."

They both walked across a wooden bridge overlooking the bathhouse. Chihiro caught sight of the view, and ran to the edge. She grabbed the top rail and put her feet on the second to last, like she did when she first came to look down at the train. Looking over it, one could see tubs filled with spirits; ducks, radishes, and everything in between. Water overflowed out of some of the tubs, and the spirits were all laughing and relaxing. One could also see some of the toads running around, catering to the spirits; while other spirit humans cleaned the floors or sent bath tokens to Kamajii via opening hidden doors and strings. Nostalgia hit Chihiro like a tsunami, and tears spilled out of her eye ducts without warning. She was still smiling, the streams making their way into her mouth. Ichirou followed her to the edge, and spotted her tearing,

"Sen, are you okay?"

Chihiro looked at him in alarm; she forgot all about her grandfather for a second. She laughed and wiped away her tears, "Yeah, I'm fine." Normally she didn't like crying in front of strangers, but this was her grandpa. Even if he didn't know it yet.

"Just making sure," was his reply. He looked down at the scene, and smiled, "So this is what a bathhouse of spirits looks like, huh? It looks a lot different from the town."

Chihiro looked at him, "Town?"

He nodded, "I came over from the town a ways from here. It was weird, one moment I'm with my parents looking at some abandoned town, then the next moment the town is filled with spirits and I couldn't find my parents anywhere. I was told by this one spirit that I had to take the train to a bathhouse and find work there because my parents were turned into pigs!" He laughed, "I didn't believe them at first, but pretty soon I got a hold of the idea. So I saved up enough money to buy a train ticket, and took the next ride here."

Chihiro looked at his clothing, "It looks like you did some work."

Ichirou nodded, "Anything I could do to get money. Just as long as it wasn't bad. I worked for many spirits, and pretty soon I came across one nice old lady that gave me more than enough money. She liked humans. I guess I was just lucky."

Chihiro smiled, "What was her name?"

Ichirou cupped his chin in thought, "Uh… Zeniba, I think."

Chihiro gasped, "You've met Yubaba's sister?"

Ichirou widened his eyes, "No wonder I've seen her before! I thought so…" His gaze wandered back to the commotion below them, "So… how do you know Zeniba?"

Chihiro sighed. She ran out of apples, "It's a long story…" She said wearily.

Ichirou seemed to get the idea, and he smiled, "That's fine. Come on; let's go see if Makijii took your idea."

Chihiro laughed, "You mean Kamajii?"

Ichirou shook his head, "Oh yeah. Well, come on. This elevator, right?"

"No. Left."

They both paused, then laughed. Chihiro teared up again; she hasn't laughed in a long time. Ever since she found out she was moving to a small town, leaving her best friends behind. Chihiro then smiled at another thing.

She actually got to see her grandpa.

And, truth be told, he wasn't half bad.

* * *

(A/N:) So I finally got Spirited Away songs on my iPod (iTunes has them now. Finally) and I listened to them while writing this chapter! It made my writing a lot easier

and faster, too, believe it or not. It cleared my mind a little bit more and made me think more deeply about the plot. I guess music can do that, huh? Powerful thing,

music. I play the violin, and that always clears my mind...Unless I can't seem to get the notes in tune (sweatdrop) The intros are now going to be 'Orson Scott Card

style', if you know what I mean. (Ender's Game, Ender's Shadow, ECT.) I like those intros.

* * *

(A/N2:) I love writing Ichirou's character. It gave me a way to lighten up the mood. I hope you like it, too! Probably the sole reason of this really fast update was because of writing his character! So many questions to be answered now... Uh oh...

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	7. Unraveling

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(A/N:) I'm telling you, my fingers are on _fire_, now that TAKS is over and finals are coming up... Got to get as much writing in as possible before then, so... Here you go! This chapters okay, I guess...

* * *

Spirited Away

The Bookcase

* * *

"So you didn't like that 'demon-child' at all?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I liked him at first. I thought he was a trustworthy human."

"Then what did he do to you to make you so—"

"It's a long story."

"You're stuck on a deserted island with nothing else to do and no one else to talk to but your old husband and yet you don't think you have enough time to tell a long story?"

"Rubbish. Just don't want to tell you right now. I'll tell you later. Right now I need to review my plans and see if they will work according to time."

"Do you think it'll all work out?"

"Trust me. This has been my top priority for a long time."

"Well, if that's what you think."

"What do you mean?"

"What I'm trying to get at is why Kamajii has something to do with all of this."

"How did you know about that old geezer?"

"We're all old geezers. We all grew up together."

"So_ what_ do you know about him?"

"That he has something to do with your plans. Didn't I just ask you what?"

"He has nothing to do with my plans. He just happened to get in the way last time."

"On purpose?"

"On instinct, I suppose."

"…That's interesting…Interesting indeed…"

* * *

_Spirit World- Present Time_

"LIN!" Kohaku burst through the boiler room door. He had jumped down from the balcony, transformed into his dragon form, and flew down to the boiler room door.

He didn't want to waste any time on the elevators.

When he came in, the first thing he saw was Lin sprawled on the floor; many of the cupboards disarrayed, broken into, or thrown out of their places and onto the ground; and Kamajii tending to Lin—blood streaming down his purple and green garments. The boy's eyes widened in shock and fear, and he ran to kneel down next to the both of them, "Lin! Wha—Kamajii happened here?!" He was frantic, but his voice came out smooth and gracefully connected, even thought he was talking rather hasty. His breathing was irregular and his eyes unblinking as he looked at Kamajii.

The boiler man rubbed his head, "Haku… I don't really know what happened, actually." The boy was silent, urging Kamajii to grasp the situation, "All I remember was Lin bringing lunch, and then a tornado of stinging white strips hurled in from the door and attacked us. Even the soot balls…" He pointed to the little holes under the wooden flooring and the cupboards, and the boy followed his arm. Kohaku gaped when he saw that there were many piles of soot, and dazed soot balls regenerating from them, cross-eyed when they floated. He smiled in relief,

"Well, at least they can regenerate themselves."

Kamajii nodded in agreement, "I'm glad. They're like my children. Only I don't remember how they came to help me… Haku, will you—"

"—Oh, yes." Kohaku felt slightly embarrassed that he forgot Lin for a second. He picked her up by the feet while Kamajii held her shoulders. They laid her on a sheet that the soot balls—that were oriented—got. The sheet was torn in several places. Kohaku tried to piece the puzzle together, "So you said that it seemed like a tornado of white strips?" Kamajii nodded, and Kohaku only thought of one thing. One _person_.

"Zeniba."

Kamajii looked at him in disbelief, "Zeniba? You don't think she would…"

Kohaku shook his head, "No, I don't, but she has control of the Origami Dragonflies."

"Oh, so that's what those things were."

"Yes. So what happened after that? Did they just leave right away?"

"Oh, they didn't leave, they flew into the furnace."

* * *

_Spirit World- ??_

Ichirou and Chihiro made their way to the boiler room door. When they finally reached it, Ichirou slid it open, and followed Chihiro inside. Kamajii was kneeling next to a pile of soot he collected, and he was scratching his head slowly. He murmured to himself, "Now how do I do this?"

Chihiro and Ichirou walked and knelt beside him, and he turned to them, "Oh, you're back?"

Ichirou spoke first, "I'm working for you now. Sen is your assistant, remember?" Chihiro blushed at her irrational decision to bring Kamajii into this—and without Ichirou knowing.

Kamajii blinked at looked at Chihiro, "Assistant?"

Chihiro gulped, "Yes sir." Please let him understand.

Kamajii just scratched his head again, "Hmmm, I guess I just forgot all of this time. I had so many kids in here it was hard to keep up with you all. I thought I had them transfer to cleaning duty, but… ah, one left is fine." He laughed, and then turned to Chihiro's grandfather, "So, what's your name?"

"Ichi," The boy spoke without faltering or stuttering. Yep, a fast learner, thought Chihiro. Or maybe I'm just slow, she suggested to herself, and then blushed at her ignorance.

Kamajii and Ichirou bowed to each other, and Kamajii spoke, "Welcome, Ichi. You're lucky to have gotten a job here at the bathhouse. The chances are slim for humans."

No joke, Chihiro thought as she frowned.

Kamajii then gave them the rules to the boiler room, "First things first; don't get to close to the machinery—there are gas pipes that leak. Hot bursts of air can hurt your skin."

Chihiro rubbed her arm secretly—the arm that almost got burned when she tried to hide from Kamajii the first time. She sighed at her luck.

"Second… well, that's basically it." He then gave Ichirou his first task: find someone with the magic to transform the soot into living things. The boy bowed, looked at Chihiro, and then strode to the shoji door. Chihiro bowed back, and went to Kamajii's side.

Kamajii spoke first, "You told Yubaba you were my assistant?"

Chihiro looked at the ground, "No, I told Haku. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get you involved, I just had to get my grandfa—" she widened her eyes and cupped her mouth when Kamajii looked at her,

"Your _what_?"

Chihiro gulped, she had no more apples. Hopefully Kamajii would understand this one thing, "Okay, this may sound a little weird, but that boy—Ichirou—is my grandfather. I came here from the future, but I've been here before. Please, just don't tell anyone I'm a hu—"

Suddenly the shoji door opened; and Chihiro wallowed in reminiscence.

"Chow time!"

It was Lin.

The fourteen year old Lin.

Chihiro wanted to go and strangle her in happiness, but she knew better. This Lin didn't know her; to her Chihiro was just another servant. Lin looked at her, "Who are you?"

Chihiro smiled without any teeth and spoke, "Sen. I'm Kamajii's—"

"—You mean you have an assistant?!" Lin looked at Kamajii, "I wanted an assistant!"

Kamajii cocked an eyebrow, "And how long have you worked here?"

Lin looked down, "Not as long as you." But her head lifted again, "But I actually _need_ one!"

Kamajii sighed while Chihiro beamed. Lin hasn't changed one bit, she thought. Kamajii rubbed his forehead, "Okay, I'll make you a deal. The next person to come here, ask for work, and actually get it will be your assistant, got it?"

Chihiro's eyebrows rose at that. So if I was her first assistant… then that would've meant—

"Like that will ever happen…" Lin scoffed, and then proceeded through the door. She paused when she looked at the pile of soot, "What the heck is that?"

Kamajii grinned, "My workers!" Lin looked at him like he was some old man, "Oh, well, not yet, anyway. My other servant is—"

"You mean you have _two_?!" Lin was green with envy, and Chihiro winced while trying to cover up a laugh. Lin stormed back to the door, "Greedy old man."

And with that the door slammed.

Outside, Lin passed two boys that were heading for the boiler room. Steaming, she snapped, "Haku, I want an assistant!"

Ichirou flinched some while Haku just looked at her. He spoke with clarity, "In due time, Lin."

The girl gripped her basket tighter as she strode off, mumbling something about smart-mouthed boys and greedy old men.

Ichirou decided it was best to hold his tongue.

When Ichirou unfastened the door, Kamajii and Chihiro were discussing something, but they stopped as soon as the door opened. Ichirou addressed the boiler man, "I brought someone."

Chihiro widened her eyes at the fact that Haku could do magic at such a young age. She couldn't wait to see if he could actually do it or not. She watched him walk over to the soot pile and kneel next to it.

"This will be quick," Haku whispered, and right after he spoke he lifted his hand gently. He waved it from right to left over the pile slowly, as if wiping a window. Almost instantly, the soot started to form little balls, and the balls formed eyes, and soon after arms. Haku got up and rubbed his hands slowly, "That should do it."

Kamajii, Chihiro, and Ichirou just stood there, and watched him walk to the boiler room door. He didn't go back to the shoji door.

Ichirou was the first to speak, "Wait! Haku!"

The boy turned, "It's Master Haku."

Ichirou blinked, but ran up to him, "That was amazing! Do you think you could teach me something like that?"

"But you're a human."

"So? I bet you're good enough to teach me."

Haku's hand stopped over the doorknob. He looked at Ichirou with a glint of joy in his eyes, "You think so?"

Ichirou nodded vigorously, and then bent down to Haku's ear, "And if I were you, I'd choose to be a dragon."

Chihiro saw Haku's eyes widen, and then he was gone in a flash. Ichirou beamed, and then walked back to Chihiro and Kamajii. Chihiro was confused, "Why'd you say that?"

Ichirou looked at her, "Oh, well, when Kamajii wanted someone with magic, Haku was the only one I could think of. Well, I didn't know anyone else, so I just hoped he could help. When I got to Yubaba's office, I heard her talking to Haku. She said that the next thing she would teach Haku was to turn into an animal of any kind, but he didn't know which one to choose. There was a moment of silence after that, so that's when I decided to come in and ask for him. Yubaba yelled at me a bit for intruding, but Haku calmed her down and said that they would continue after his summoning. So, we came down here, he helped us with our problem, and I helped him with his decision." He ended with his hands on his hips, looking at Kamajii,

"So, what do we do now, Makajii?"

Chihiro laughed again, and Kamajii laughed as well, "Boy, if you're going to be my assistant you're going to have to learn how to say 'Kamajii' first!"

Ichirou blushed, "Oh, right. Kamajii; got it."

They all started laughing, while the soot balls jumped up and down.

Kamajii turned to them, "Now, we need a place to put these runts…"

Chihiro grinned, "I have an idea."

* * *

(A/N:) So me and four of my friends almost got suspended, right? Wait-Hold on-Let me tell you what happened before you go and label me as a rebel. :) It was

nothing really; we were playing _basketball_. To be honest, if you almost get written up for playing basketball, that's just naive, right?

* * *

(A/N:) So... how was the chapter? Hope you didn't have to wait long... Heehee just kidding. And to **eragonroxmysox**, yeah, I'm updating this one, but I've pretty much abandoned my other stories... (sweatdrop) So many questions yet to be answered... I hope you stick around to find out!

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